Re: (guest) 10 Jan 2010 14:43
i go through this website to make me feel better but im confused on this page because you say its wrong but then why would they announce it to the worl?
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Re: (guest) 10 Jan 2010 14:43
Because the press releases anything that is sensationalistic, regardless of the truth. The Telegraph and the Sun are two of the worst for printing crap. They are just one step above the National Enquirer. This star is 3000 light years away, so it would be no danger to us if it goes supernova. It would have to be within 25 light years of us to put us in any danger.
The astronomer made a mistake, a miscalculation. The press, on the other hand, hyped up what the press release actually said and turned it into something else.
What he said was that the proposed supernova could possibly damage the earth's atmosphere (he was wrong because he used the numbers for a GRB, a much larger explosion). What was reported was that it would 'wipe out life on earth', which is an entirely different thing.
Even if a very near star goes supernova (such as Betelgeuse, at 300 light years) it would not cause the kind of problems that was reported.
"Do you ever think about things you do think about?" - Henry Drummond to Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind
there arent even any big stars around. whothe hell came up w/ this
the nearest big star is betelgeuse and its 500 yes 500 light years away and betelgeuse is nowhere near having a supernova& even betelgeuse is much to far away to affect us
the nearest big star is betelgeuse and its 500 yes 500 light years away and betelgeuse is nowhere near having a supernova& even betelgeuse is much to far away to affect us
Well, Betelgeuse is actually in the latter stages of its life, and in astronomical terms could go supernova at any time. However, to us that might be tomorrow or a million years from now, and observers on Earth would not see it until hundreds of years after it happened. It's true that the event will pose no threat to this planet; it will simply be cool to look at.
Actually, I hope it does go soon. It would be awesome to be able to see this point of light in the sky during daylight.
"Do you ever think about things you do think about?" - Henry Drummond to Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind
Hi,
Me again, feel free to ignore this is it's not relevant, but I followed the link to the Wikipedia article on gamma ray bursts and terrified myself reading about their possible impacts on earth. I followed link after link and was at one point thinking WR104 was aimed straight at us ready to go any second, to it's probably not pointed at us and probably will be an ordinary supernova anyway ( this site was where i found that positive information, on the earthplay updates page found by searching).
Would it be worth adding a sentence or two to this page stating a gamma ray burst is also unlikely as this would have saved me an hour of pure panic. Again this is probably just me that worried as I have a tendancy to invent things far worse than reality and then dwell on them so they grow so much in my mind I struggle to function.
I'm afraid you can probably expect to hear more from me as we move through the next 12 months as I am often teased by my brothers about 'the end of the world' despite being 28 no matter how much i try to avoid information they find it funny to say 'have you heard about…' and I come here to get a quick dose of calm.
Again do ignore me if you feel it is just me, or I am wrong and Gamma Ray Bursts are a relevant risk. And apologies for posting.
So the quoted conclusion at the bottom of the page doesn't tell you they are not likely?
Conclusion
We have shown that the prevailing scientific opinion is that supernova pose no threat to us within several million years.
“In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.” - Oscar Wilde
I'm afraid with my limited knowledge of astrophysics I have assumed a supernova (which is no threat) and a gamma ray burst (a possible threat if the star is pointing in the right direction) to be two different things. As I said I was prepared to be ignored if it was irrelevant.
You'll have to forgive my previous post, for some reason it didn't compute in my mind you were asking directly about gamma ray bursts and not a supernova. I am going to post a link below that is an interesting read on how unlikely a gamma ray burst is to happen in our galaxy, and hopefully it'll help put your mind at ease.
“In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.” - Oscar Wilde
/forum/t-210192/supernova#post-